Set up dial-in or PSTN conferencing for Skype for Business

Applies To: Office for businessOffice 365 AdminOffice 365 Small Business AdminSkype for BusinessSkype for Business admin centerMore...Less

Sometimes people in your organization will need to use a phone to call into a meeting. Skype for Business includes the dial-in conferencing feature for just this situation! People can call into Skype for Business meetings using a phone, instead of using the Skype for Business app on a mobile device or PC.

You only need to set up dial-in conferencing (also called PSTN conferencing) for people who plan to schedule or lead meetings. Meeting attendees who dial-in don't need any licenses assigned to them or other setup.

Third-party as your dial-in conferencing provider: If you are in a country where Office 365 dial-in conferencing isn’t available, the service quality isn’t great because of it's location, or you have an existing contract, choose a third-party dial-in conferencing provider. To find a provider, go to Microsoft PinPoint.

Tip: In your organization, you can have some people who use Microsoft as their dial-in conferencing provider, and others who use a third-party provider. But this will be more complicated for you to setup and manage.

Step 4: Set up meeting invitations

The following steps are optional, but a lot of admins like to do them:

Customize your meeting invitations. The dial-in numbers that are set for the user will be automatically added to the meeting invitations that are sent to attendees. However, you can add your own help and legal links, a text message, and small company graphic.

Set auto attendant languages that the dial-in conferencing auto-attendant uses to greet a caller when they dial into a dial-in conferencing phone number. This step only applies if you're using Microsoft as your dial-in provider.

Frequently asked questions

Calling in to meetings is very useful when people are on the road, for example, and can't attend a meeting using the Skype for Business client on their laptop or mobile devices. But there are other reasons why using a phone to attend a Skype for Business meeting can be a better option than using the Skype for Business app on a computer:

Anyone who has the dial-in number and conference ID can join a Skype for Business meeting, unless the meeting organizer has locked the meeting.

Whether you're calling in using a phone or your the Skype for Business web app, you'll be able to hear everyone else on the call, and they can hear you. The meeting organizer has the ability to "mute" meeting attendees if they don't want to hear them.

There are local dial-in numbers that are assigned to you when you purchase the licenses for dial-in conferencing. The dial-in numbers will be included in the meeting invite. These local numbers will be only available to your organization. The phone assigned to your organization and that number is shared by the users within that organization that are enabled for dial-in conferencing. So, Skype for Business Online meetings scheduled by User A and another User B will both have the same dial-in number.

Local dial-in numbers, and also in some cases international dial-in numbers from the country where your organization is located, will be included on the meeting invite. If a meeting attendee uses a different number that is include in the invite, it will be a shared phone number.

No, a user can't get any operator assistance or support by pressing *0 during the meeting. If there are issues with dial-in conferencing, an administrator for an organization can contact Microsoft support for Office 365.

A Skype for Business Online user can find the conference ID that is assigned to them by scheduling a meeting in Outlook and Outlook on the web. Also, users can find the conference ID in the email that will be sent to them after they are set up for dial-in conferencing.

Note: Users won't be able to reset their conference ID. The conference ID can only be reset by you - the admin - for the organization.

We are working on a solution that will let the user will be able access and reset a conference ID without help from an organization's admin.

When a user is assigned a Skype for Business PSTN Conferencing license and the user creates a new Skype for Business meeting in Outlook or Outlook on the web, the dial-in phone numbers and conferencing IDs are added to the meeting invite automatically.

When a user is assigned a Skype for Business PSTN Conferencing license, the user is assigned what is called a reservation-less conference ID. This conference ID can be shared along with the conference access phone numbers with meeting attendees without the user having to schedule a meeting.

Here is a table that has the scenarios when the organizer and all of the attendees dial in to a meeting:

User's setting

Organizer steps

Attendee steps

Don't allow anonymous users to start a meeting

Dial the dial-in conferencing phone number.

Enter the conference ID.

Enter the PIN for the meeting.

Dial the dial-in conferencing phone number.

Enter the conference ID.

If the meeting organizer hasn't joined the meeting yet, the attendee will listen to music in the lobby until the organizer joins the meeting.

Allow an anonymous user to start a meeting

Dial the dial-in conferencing phone number.

Enter the conference ID.

Dial the dial-in conferencing phone number.

Enter the conference ID.

If the attendee joins the meeting before the organizer, each attendee can start the meeting.